David Davis to resign to force by-election on 42 days

This is an unconfirmed but well-founded rumour but David Davis, Shadow Home Secretary, is to resign his seat to highlight the issue of 42 days. More as we get it...

1.45pm: We'll now attempt to catch up with this extraordinary story; the ConHome team were having a fish'n'chip lunch when it broke! Dominic Grieve is the new Shadow Home Secretary.

1.50pm: LibDems won't oppose David Davis.

Mr Davis will stand as an independent a Conservative Party candidate, but without the backing of CCHQ.

Simon Chapman has been blogging about developments at CentreRight: "I cannot see an up-side for the Conservative Party in this. This can only be seen as a challenge to David Cameron. Why has he done this? Why now? Why did his job not give him a sufficient platform to make the case he wanted to? Why has he decided that he needed to resign to campaign on the erosion of civil liberties and on 42 days, when he was the Party's spokesman on those issues? No doubt we will find out more soon, but my current emotion is utter dismay. It suggests that DD believes the Party does not share his commitment - why else resign?"

1.53pm: David Cameron's statement:

“This is a personal decision for David Davis. He is a friend and colleague and I will be happy to campaign for him in his constituency. I pay tribute to the campaign he has been waging on behalf of the Party on 42 days. But we cannot put Home Affairs on pause and it is my job to ensure that we have a team that’s ready for Government. We remain fully committed to our opposition to 42 days and the new Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve will step up our efforts to fight against it in Parliament.”

Dominic Grieve, new Shadow Home Secretary, said: “I fully understand David’s brave stand and I am honoured to take up this appointment. It has been a privilege to work with him in fighting 42 days. I look forward to continuing the Party’s campaign against 42 days pre- charge detention in Parliament, as I have been doing throughout in my role as Shadow Attorney General.”

2.35pm: Taking a second look at the statement it is amazing that The Speaker wouldn't allow DD to make it in the House. Another bad day for Mr Martin.

2.55pmNick Robinson: "David Cameron has lost control of his strategy. This was not his decision. He was not asked for his agreement. He was informed late last night by David Davis that he was going to do this come what may. That he was going to resign and trigger this campaign. This is not a campaign that Mr Cameron wants, it is not part of his strategy and indeed, I am told by senior Tories who know Mr Cameron well, that this was David Davis' personal decision and will be his personal campaign."

2.55pm Andy McSmith: "The risk is that his campaign will fade into a monumental irrelevance, and he will be returned on a low turn out as the voters in Haltemprice and Howden wonder why they are being dragged to the polls to no effect."

3pm: Bookmakers William Hill has a surprising perspective on this news. They've lengthened Davis' odds of becoming leader from 4/1 to 14/1, the same level as Grieve, because: "It is difficult to see how David Davis could have done anything other
than damage his prospects of becoming his Party's next leader by
embarrassing them in this way"

Congratulations to DD for putting the issue of freedom - and its steady erosion over the last 11 years - firmly on the front pages for the next 4 weeks, in the face of Brown's gerrymandering yesterday. What a Pyrrhic victory this will be for him now.

Here's to a resounding mandate for DD in H&H and ideally a lost Labour deposit in the process.

The more the Conservatives support David Davis, the more the focus can be concentrated at New Labour's evil. Let David Davis make more speeches like this on television. Let him passionately explain to the country why New Labour is stupid and evil, while New Labour drink champagne with the pigs and farmers, too drunk to notice what's about to destroy them

I'm slightly puzzled by the 'without CCHQ support business'. Does that mean his local Association won't adopt him as a candidate?

Taken at face value this is one of those 'events' that Party Leaders must loathe.

It is a quite extraordinary act. One that puts Davis squarely in the limelight and paints vividly the difference between careerist and conviction politics.

Those of us who still think that convictions should count for something will applaud.

Those who are careerists and would never stick their necks on the line like this must be quite baffled and annoyed by this act of defiance. It is way outside their comfort zone or cosy bipolar poltical logic.

Oh well, at least it keeps 42 days in the spotlight and keeps Brown from steering the agenda for another day.

But I'm still puzzled as to why he's not standing as a Tory if that is the case.

Well done David Davis for restoring a sense of principle in to modern politics. Cameron should now spend as much time in Haltemprice and Howden as he did in Crewe and Nantwich.

Going there ASAP to announce that as PM he will repeal yeserday's draconian bill would be a flying start for Davis' campaign - as well as laying to bed any arguments within the party and the Shadow Cabinet over the issue.

If Michael Gove and George Osbourne feel so strongly in favour of 42 Days as is speculated perhaps they can resign their seats and fight a by-election on the matter?

David Davis is standing as an Independent. The local association will not be allowed to adopt him as a candidate. I assume that the Conservatives will not field a candidate against David Davis. It remains to be seen whether a neo-conservative hawk such as Douglas Murray stands against Davis.

When opinion polls ask "should terrorists be held without charge for 42 days" it's hardly surprising that the majority of the public will say yes. In a by election to include all the other intrusions into our liberties (CCTV everywhere, increased council inspectors powers, bin taxes, ID cards and huge databases) I rather suspect that Davis will easily achieve his objective of alerting the public of where this will all, inevitably, end up. The last thing Labour would want in fact.

For this reason I would not be surprised if Labour declined to field a candidate, which would ironically leave UKIP (a supposedly more libertarian party ) to field opposition...

DD doesn't have to label himself. At last we have a Leader with fire in his belly. Cameron, take note! We, the British people have had enough of mealy-mouthed part-time politicians with shoulders like champagne bottles, glibly force-feeding the electorate with ambiguous and misleading disinformation. BRAVO David, Respect to the Lib Dems for not standing against him. The Barons of Runnymede,along with Nelson, Wellington, and Churchill stand with you Brave David. Your Regimental Cap Badge says it all < Who Dares Wins >

With the economy in turmoil, prices of household staples and fuel rising exponentially, repossessions increasing and the words 'negative equity' re-entering the national lexicon, what an excellent move by David Davis to fight an election on the single issue of protecting the civil rights of suspected Islamic terrorists. As I recall from Crewe and Nantwich, the phrase "please ensure that detention without trial isn't extended from 28 to 42 days for suspected terrorists" came up again and again on the door, and arguably swung the election.

Labour are cowards. They will try and deny this by-election/referendum legitimacy by not fielding a candidate. They would surely lose against a much-loved, principled politician who's prepared to put his neck on the block for his principles.
Davis is a champ, but unfortunately Labour will deny him the opportunity to really soc it to them.
Shame

A fine speech. Good luck to the man. Perhaps it is intended to draw attention away from a potentially popular move by the government (according to the polls), and as he says get people to think again about supporting such a law.
Could be a very sly political move...

It's high stakes. In the short-term it distracts from Brown's relaunch, it offers us the opportunity of presenting his "win" yesterday as a defeat and it will help secure floating LibDem support which is key for the marginal seats where we need them to oust Labour. It will distract Brown as he dithers over what to do and whether to field a candidate. It makes the Tories seem like convication politicians who value Parliament.

Personally, I find it most admirable as his speech perfectly outlines my own feelings.

It is also risky though. It risks the Party being painted as weak on terror and, if he loses, it hands even more momentum to Brown than he may have had just from clinging on in yesterday's vote. Depending on how it's handled it may make us seem flaky.

We can't assess the impact of this decision at the moment - what it will mean is not obvious. It's daring, and certainly not the easy option, but could work out either way. For now though, all we can do is help an admirable politician - whose views on this are almost identical to my own - win the election.

DD is a man of principles in a sea of careerists. This is why I supported him for leader of the Tory Party. Its a great and brave move; and a slap in the eye to the authoritarians in the Tory Party. As Sarkis has observed one has to wonder if this site will endorse DD in his bye-election run.

This is risky for many reasons. I agree though that Parliament is no longer the protector of our rights. The Lib Dems aren't going to contest as they believe the Government also is going too far Brown is going to feel some heat from the newspaper articles for a few days on this. If Brown doesn't contest he'll be painted as bottling it and looking as if he's scared to take up the argument. If he does take it up and loses then that sends a loud message and Damages Labour further. If he takes it up and wins it would be a massive boost for Brown showing the pubic support him in this.

If Gordon Brown had any political nous, he would announce asap (ideally before the 6 o’clock bulletins) that Labour would not contest, thus making a go of rendering the whole episode a half day wonder. Then again, if Gordon Brown had any political nous….

Should Labour decide not to contest the seat - an extraordinary choice for the party in government, whatever the circumstances - it may be worth noting a historical precedent from the time when the Ulster Unionists resigned together so as to fight by-elections on the single issue of objecting to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Where any of the UUP/DUP candidates were on course to be unopposed, steps were taken to ensure that a nominee opponent ("Peter Barry", the then Irish Foreign Secretary if I remember rightly) was on the ballot paper so as to ensure that a choice could be made. Now, in the mayhem of a UK by-election, we might of course find that quite a few fringe candidates were prepared to change their names to Jacqui Smith without too much prompting...

Congratulations Mr Davis, A fine stand on principal, are there any other principled Conservatives out there I wonder. Did the Conservative party make a mistake by choosing someone who does not stand on principal, not even the principal of keeping his own cast iron promises on the EU Referendum?

Yesterday I found myself agreeing with Ben Rogers and now today with Justin..

But Justin is right, DD has shown immense courage and thrown down a gauntlet to Brown that Brown cannot ignore. My only worry is the number of senior people in our party who couldn't spot a principled stand if it sat on them and don't see how much the Country is longing for politicians to lead from the front on issues they feel strongly about.

Peering at the percentage points of a focus group is a zero sum game, courage, balls and a instinctive feel for the moment to strike are what we need, Davis knows it and the rest of our top brass sure better back him tout suite.

As for the posters who seem to think that anything which promotes bad headlines from the BBC is off limits, get a life, the BBC are Guardian-reading Trots, they have always been Trots and until we close them down they will always hate us. Who the hell cares what they think?

Has everyone had too much sugar in the last couple of days? I can't get over how excitable you all are. Brave? hardly! There's no risk in it whatsoever. I respect Davis but he is a politician first and foremost, so calling this an ego-trip isn't a criticism of his character.

This is an act of a brave and principled man and I wished to God that he had won the leadership contest. Individuals such as this are very rare in politics these days hence why so many people are gob smacked at his decision. Many I suspect simply cannot remember politicians being this principled. There was a time when people from all walks of life did this, stand up and be counted for what you believe is right.

I am convinced he will not loose his seat because the British People will see someone who they can identify with. The issue of 42 days will probably be a long way from people’s minds when they rally behind him, but the issues of the nanny state, emaciation of parent’s rights, snooping by town hall zealots, political correctness etc most certainly will not be. People hate these things and will see a man who is prepared to make a stand against it and speak up for them.

Don Quixote Davis! The man's gone stark raving bonkers fighting a cause that won't exist (='tilting at windmills'). Long before Brown can get it through under the Parliament Act we'll be in a general election campaign. If it's part of the manifesto - as Dominic Grieves says it will be - then what's he fighting for ???

What a waste of effort and money.

Chosen the wrong target. There are plenty of things worth such a gesture but not this!

I speak as someone who is a Consertive Supporter and some one who if David Davis has won the leadership election would have joined the party, (D. Cameron is a creature of the media, made by them, with no conviction politics).

Before today I believed that David Davis was a man of principle now I know he is. He has realized that in order to stop the growth of the New Labor Police State, A stand must be made. A stand that the leadership seems incapable of making. Little or nothing said about ID, cards, about closed circuit TV camera, Data bases, including DNA. We hear the march of new labor, not left, left, left but Control, Control, Control.

This is a well planned strategy, the Lib Dems can not put anyone up against him, well they are suppose to be ‘liberal’. If Labor do not stand, it will prove that they want state control and the defense argument will not wash any longer. So they must fight and the ID cards, CCTV and all the over parts of the police state set up by this government will be dragged out into the open. Even the BBC are in trouble, attack him and they will be seen as pro-police state, just like Big Brother.

Unluckily I am working in Germany at the present, to I can not help in the campaign, but if my wife wishes to help she has my blessing.

Don Quixote Davis! The man's gone stark raving bonkers fighting a cause that won't exist (='tilting at windmills'). Long before Brown can get it through under the Parliament Act we'll be in a general election campaign. If it's part of the manifesto - as Dominic Grieves says it will be - then what's he fighting for ???

What a waste of effort and money.

And all this hyper-ventilation on this non-event is not healthy

Chosen the wrong target. There are plenty of things worth such a gesture but not this!

ACT - because you know all that to be true because you were in the room when it happened. Oh, wait...

I'm not sure about Davis's timing, purely because he'll look a bit daft if 42 days is blocked by the Lords, even though that's not what this is all about. But I admire the principle, I think he's right on the issue. He's also standing as a Conservative candidate, which I'm betting he wouldn't have done if this split stuff carried much weight.

BBC interview with David Davis that is on News24 seems to kill off any idea that this is a real Tory rift. If Davis was doing this in hope to spur off a leadership election upon his glorious return to parliament he wouldn't be saying that Cameron backed him fully and shared his views, he'd be slamming him.

If Davis was doing this in hope to spur off a leadership election upon his glorious return to parliament he wouldn't be saying that Cameron backed him fully and shared his views, he'd be slamming him.

On the contrary, if Davis were lining himself up for a leadership challenge, isn't this exactly what he'd say? After all, Cameron appears to be 'sharing his views' more fully by the moment. Who looks weak and reactive there? If there ever was a moment when Davis could affort to be extravagantly nice about the other Dave, surely it's today?

fugitive ink,
Maybe, however I think he would be accused of blatant opportunism seeing as he appears to have the leaderships support, even if it isn't what they really wanted. With the opposition already citing this as a publicity stunt making a leadership challenge after heaping praise on the leader as you resign would just look bizzare.

Sure David, have it your way then. Yesterday Cameron *wouldn't* commit to repealing 42 days; today, Grieve on his behalf, insists that he will. As you suggest, an utter coincidence, in no way connected to what Davis has just done. Alternatively, Cameron a.) made the mistake of assuming that everyone is as cynical as him, and therefore doesn't care about 'issues', other than as to how they play as a matter of political positioning & b.) Dave assumed all his shadow cabinet colleagues are, at base, just the tame careerist he's always been, hence, surely, no one was ever going to resign on principle over anything. Well more fool him.

I think it's a superb and courageous move. Davis' shot at being Tory leader is long gone, and the party-political situation is such that it won't kill off the party if it fails. People touting these as motives are dead wrong.

Right now, a majority of people -- it seems from polls -- support 42 days. Governments come and go, but the core democratic principles must remain. There's no better time to stand up and fight the campaign for liberty.

There's a risk Labour will ignore it, hoping it will fizzle out, but I hope to see a principled debate. If not a Labour standard-bearer for authoritarianism, why not a fellow Conservative? Ann Widdecombe was planning to resign anyway...

I also hope this also draws attention to Magna Carta Day, which I've long thought should have greater prominence in the British calendar, drawing attention to our constitutional heritage much as Independence Day does in the USA.

If all Conservative (besides Widdecombe) LibDem and other MPs (including a good 4 dozen Labour ones), opposed to turning our country into a banana republic, resigned and triggered about 320 by elections, then that would work. A General Election would be hard to deny. But David D doing it all on his own? I am not sure about that. Still, I am proud of the man.

Well, bizarre was the word I used on here. Editor, I now know what it's like being quoted by the enemy (LOL).

Having had a few hours to reflect, I think I've come up with the reasoning behind DD's strategy. He wants to tie ConHome up in such knots about whether the Editor should support him in the by-election that his friend Iain Dale is able to make an audacious bid to take over your position as the voice of the grass roots. It's Iain Dale's bid to be king of the blogoshere!

Incidentally, what will DD's platform at the by-election be on the compositon of the House of Lords? He can hardly stand on the platform of direct election can he, just as the present House will be saving the Constitution?! Oh dear, another potential rift - I suggest the Shadow Cabinet makes a pre-emptive bid by junking their directly election Lords policy double quick.

Stupendous, fantastic!! I was out until after 2.30pm so missed his speech etc:, did see Nick Robinson interviewing DD on News 24, and WHO CARES what Robinson thinks or says, HIS integrity is to his job as a journalist (for what it is worth!), HE would never have the guts to make a decision like this!!!!

I saw David Davis make a speech at the Conservative Party Conference in 2006 (naturally the BBC didn't pick it up), and I found it inspiring (probably why the BEEB DID NOT pick it up!!!), but I would like to have heard this speech.

I don't know whether he is making a 'colossal blunder', only time will tell, but what I do know is that David Davis is Mr. Everyman - someone that Brown and Co can't SNEER at for being a toff, so when he gets speaking about his convictions and SHOWS that HE cares about this country, and its freedoms, many, many more people will rally round to the meaning of our freedoms, and see this 42days thingy for what it is - a tool for dictator Brown to use....

If the judges (these days) didn't seem so prone to give as light a sentence as they can to all and sundry, then perhaps the public would not feel insecure enough to be persuaded that A prime minister should be deciding sentences of any kind!

David Davis, may well manage to enlighten quite a few people, and THAT CAN't be bad!!!!!

I hope the by-election is called for 42 days after David's resignation as an MP (ie Thursday 24th July) - to show the impact that 42 days' exclusion can have on an individual's life and career. David Davis - the 42 Day Martyr. Good on him.

I hope the by-election is called for 42 days from today (ie Thursday 24th July) - to emphasise the impact that 42 days' exclusion can have on an individual's life and career. David Davis, the 42 Day Martyr - good on him.

I can understand why CCHQ won't be getting involved much. With no LDW candidate this should be an easy hold, albeit it will help keep the 42 day issue in the public eye, and hopefully encourage more debate in the wider population than we have seen in the build-up to the vote (I can't say it's been a conversation topic among my work colleagues, but the resignation of Davis has been). CCHQ needs to focus its resources on the Henley by-election

One of the morally and socially conservative, Eurosceptical, Unionist remnant, or at least someone as near thereto as could possibly be permitted within the Shadow Cabinet, has finally had enough (at least fifty years late, but never mind), and is quite clearly mounting a challenge.

Almost everything on Davis's entirely correct list of assaults on liberty was pioneered by the Tories' immediate previous Leader when he was Home Secretary, and it is inconceivable that the Cameroons really would repeal any of it.

The Conservative Party's refusal to fund his by-election campaign says it all, as does Cameron's stitch up of no candidates from the Lib Dems (certainly) or Labour (probably, and in that case in breach of its own Constitution) in order to deny Davis his victory.

If Labour really won't be putting up, then one of the commentariat supporters of 42 days should do so as an Independent. What are they afraid of?

There is an underlying point here. People go into politics because they believe that the State should do certain things.

When the State delivered education and health care, and ran things like railways and mines, then it felt no need to introduce ID cards, or to bang people up for six weeks without even so much as charging them, or to keep vast databases on them, or to watch them all the time. For that matter, no such needs were felt when the Police patrolled the streets on foot.

But now, having arbitrarily decided that they will not do such sensible and necessary things as delivering education and health care, or running railways and mines, or ensuring that the Police patrol the streets on foot, how are the political and administrative classes to occupy their time?

Why, by introducing ID cards, and banging people up for six weeks without even so much as charging them, and keeping vast databases on them, and watching them all the time, of course.

New Labour's world of spin and political careerism have become such a part of everyday political life that when someone stands up for what they believe in we are all so quick to see this as a cynical polical move.

David Davis cannot be gaining anything from this only the respect of many people across the political spectrum and hopefully he re-engage the rising number of disillusioned voters.

What an extraordinary day! There was I leaflet delivering in the deepest countryside of South Oxfordshire with a couple of chums - we take a break for lunch (by the way, highly recommend the Lord Nelson Near Watlington for those visiting the area!) and we start getting text messages.... Highly frustrating as phone reception in the area is iffy to say the least... Anyway, eventually we pieced the tory together.
I started off thinking the man was mad - absolutely barking - and it was a crazy gesture. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought he was really on to something. Labour are stuffed - if they put no one up and Davis is elected unopposed then Labour get accused of being "frit", basically - if they put someone up then Davis will get to highlight the issue which probably concerns most of us today more than any other, namely the long slow sleepwalk into Labour's Police State.
I am not a Parliamentary candidate, I have nothing to lose by stating my own personal views here so I will say that I never cared much for David Davis - I found him arrogant - but on this he is inspired. Light the blue touchpaper and watch Brown and Co go up in flames! I will certainly go up to Yorkshire to campaign and I hope there will be many other London Conservatives joining me.

Congratulations Mr Davis.
Great to see a politician with conviction, a true belief in what's right and what is wrong.
All the best, a great man.
Shows there are some politicians who believe in what they're doing

Very proud of David Davis, well done...
I truly hope that he achieves his goal at bringing to the attention of the British public the flagrant disregard of our values rights and freedoms that this government have surrendered to a cowardly enemy, in the name of security, the British public have to understand this effects us..not the terrorist..who ever may be deemed terrorist by a given government. I also hope its just the media scrabbing around for a devisive Tory story, and that the Tory party are standing as one in support of David Davis

A politician with strong principles? Whatever next! Mr D has certainly risen further in my estimation.

However, I share some previous posters' bewilderment as to 42 days being the sole cause of this bit of excitement.

Cast your mind back to the thread about kicking off the Henley campaign. Extract:-

"It may be nonsense or it may be mischief-making but this morning's Independent on Sunday reports that the Conservatives are considering offering Nick Clegg the position of Home Secretary should Britain return a hung parliament after the next General Election...
... But... can you hear the sound of David Davis choking on his cornflakes?!"

I'm going to stand against DD in the by-election, under the Yes to 42 Days banner. He can't be allowed to embarass our party in this way - he is a egotistical stuntman and his action today is unforgivable.

I have the greatest respect for this man. We need this kind of passion in government. How many MP's actually care this much? One has to wonder. Go David Davis. I'd vote for you! Long live the Conservative Party!

David Davis is a principled man, and we must respect him. I have an immense admiration for his ability to stand up for what is right.

However...
One must wonder what this means for the party as a whole. Before we celebrate, what happens if he loses? More than this, has David's resignation damaged party unity?

I personally don't believe so because the fact is that seeing a politician stand for fundamental freedoms will go well with most voters, no matter how much Labour, and in particular a certain Tony McNulty (quite possibly one of the most condecending people from the Labour Party I have had the displeasure of seeing and listening to, and that's certainly saying something, considering the characters in thier rougue's gallery) try to portray him as a 'vain man'.

Whether he succeeds or not, good luck to him. He is a good man and stands up for the values and freedoms of this country like a true parliamentarian.

DD is bringing to the attention of the general populace that we are having our freedom to express our views cut from beneath us. The other MPs do not seem to realise this fact. Thank goodness at least DD is prepared to stand up for us, joe public, the government certainly want to crush us underfoot - this country is becoming more and more like a dictatorship each day.

i hope Mr Davis gets his debate in the public domain on the fundimental issues of our civil liberties,if anyone wishes to know more as to why our our liberties are being eroded i can only say, go to You tube type in alex jones and watch the Info - War videos.